Genre: Young adult, coming-of-age, dystopian fiction

Stars: 4

Links: Amazon UK and Amazon US

 

The Blurb:

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation in which she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found FLAWED.

In this stunning novel, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society in which perfection is paramount and mistakes are punished. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.

 

My Review:

Tense, thought-provoking, and dark, this is great young adult fiction.

Celestine believes deeply in the Flawed system, where those found lacking in moral character are branded and ostracised by society. When the Whistleblowers come for someone she knows, her faith in the system begins to wane, and when an act of humanity gets her facing a Flawed judgement, she begins to see the cracks in the system…

The language was strong and evocative and, despite the dark theme, hopeful, and the voice of the protagonist was both believable and (naive but) relatable. The story took a while to unfold, but the pace picked up and the tension was well-drawn. I like my female characters tough and feisty, and Celestine was neither, and yet I couldn’t help but warm to the inner strength that was slowly revealed. I’m looking forward to the sequel and to (hopefully) seeing Celestine blossom into the strong woman she’s clearly destined to be. Recommended.

*I received a free copy of the book from the publisher, via NetGalley, in exchange for my honest review.